Liberation
by Centaurus87
Summary: The hours pass by as Loillas is waiting for her husband to return from the bridge of the station. A war is coming their way and nobody knows anything as of yet.
In a large apartment on the edge of the station with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a personal storage container with a lifetime worth of room. One of many residents was anxiously awaiting news from her husband.

Loillas was pacing up and down the living room, looking out the window and towards the door in turn. She looked around at Emmuette, her daughter, who was obliviously playing with her toys. She bit her lip to prevent another nail from perishing before looking at the clock above the door again. 'Where's Arneche?' she thought to herself. Loillas looked out the window again. Attello, her son, was leaning on the windowsill and peering into the vast darkness of space. He had always enjoyed watching the ships come and go and had dreamed of becoming a pilot himself someday. But the last weeks the docking bays had become silent and work had almost come to a stand still.

War had come to Tribute and the ripples were being felt all throughout the sector. Rumors had it that the war was storming their way and that the numbers of ships were unparalleled. But Loillas knew about rumors in a time of war. And the enemies of the Imperium would undoubtedly flood the news channels and networks with propaganda of their own. Add to that the Mittani's own prowess for crafting his own truths and Loillas didn't know what to belief at all anymore.

She quickly turned her head when she heard the door slide open.

"Any news yet, Arneche? Has the Imperium really abandoned us?" She asked her husband.

"The gate way to the north has fallen. The Imperium has abandoned the entire region." Arneche said with an almost hopeless look in his eyes.

He took his wife in his arms and caressed her.

"They are dropping the system defenses and are opening all frequencies. As soon as the enemy fleets are in system we will wave the white flag." He said with a shiver in his voice. "We're hoping they'll leave the station alone."

Loillas leaned back and looked her husband in the eye.

"You go over to Oltander and you tell him! You better go and call in every favor you have left on this station!" Loillas said with a raised voice.

"But what about our plans?" Arneche said as he looked to the wall on his left.

The wall was plastered with tons of pictures and print-outs of advanced machinery and sides of ships.

"We came here to build a future... for all of us." He said as a tear formed on his eyelid.

"We came here to get away from the Caldari constantly threatening with war and acting like down right terrorists. We came here because we had lost all our belongings and nearly each other because of two warring factions. Now everything is about to repeat itself and you're thinking of staying?" Loillas said.

"If we're lucky nothing changes. They say the Circle of Two will stay in control." Arneche said.

"No!" Loillas said as she turned around and walked away. "We're not staying Arneche! We can move back in with my parents and build back up!"

"But what about my job? I can't just walk away from that!" Arneche tried.

"You can find a new workshop back in Luminaire! There's always people in need of worked metals and custom armor plating." Loillas said angry.

"Alright, alright." Arneche said as he looked at his son and daughter. "How have they been?" He asked.

"All quiet. I don't think Emmuette realizes what's going on yet." Loillas sighed.

"Maybe that's for the best." Arneche said.

He kissed his wife on her forehead and walked towards the door that slid open.

"I'll be back as soon as I can! I know Oltander has a small industrial ship lying around somewhere!" He said before the door slid closed.

Loillas sat down quick and covered her face as it grimaced into a joyful crying. But she wanted to be strong for her children, so she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.

"What's dad doing, mom?" Attello asked.

"We're leaving the station." She said as she dried her eyes. "We're going to live with grandma and grandpa Ambrotte for a while."

"Are we really?" Emmuette asked with a face that radiated joy.

"Yes, dear. Really." Loillas said with a smile. "Attello, go pack your thing and help your sister too."

"Yes, mom." Attello said slightly whining as he picked his sister up and took her along.

Loilass covered her face again and sighed long and deep. But no matter how hopeful she became something inside her just wouldn't believe it yet. She decided to start packing their belongings.

'One of the upsides of station life', she thought to herself, 'boxing stuff is easier and quicker then ever'. She folded a few metallic boxes together and emptied all the shelves into them. A few picture frames got handled with care as they were made with breakable glass. She looked at the picture in the waving glass frame. For a moment she could smell the fumes and oils of the workshop she and Arneche had met in.

"Attelloooooo! Stop it!" Emmuette yelled from the other room.

"Don't make me come in there!" Loillas yelled back as she put the picture in the box with the rest of them.

"She's refusing to pack her stuffed animals!" Attello yelled.

"They can ride with us!" Emmuette yelled.

"You can pick two that can come along, Emmuette! The others have to get packed!" Loillas yelled.

She went in to the bedroom. Without folding things or packing things neatly away Loillas stuffed everything in boxes as fast as possible. Before long Arneche returned with good news.

"Our storage unit is being prepped for departure. It will be loaded up as soon as we close it up." He told his wife as he swung around the bedroom door. "But they can't approve us for undocking until the system has been given the all clear by the new owners."

Loillas was putting the last of the clothing in boxes.

"Let's just hope they're not the Imperium returning unexpectedly." She said as she closed the lid. "Only the kitchen is left." She sighed as she stood up.

They walked into the kitchen with a few new boxes and opened all of the cupboards before starting to empty them. As quick and safely as the could they loaded all of the ceramic plates and glasses into special airbag-containers. Everything else got shoved into other boxes and put next to the door to the storage unit. Attello and Emmuette had long since left their rooms and had helped their parents load all the boxes in. They were now leaning on the windowsill again.

"You finish up here. I'll finish up by taking our pictures down." Loillas said as she walked over to the seemingly plastered wall.

One by one she carefully took every picture down and put them in a stack. Suddenly Attello and Emmuette gasped loudly as a plethora of flashes dotted the horizon and a giant fleet of ships slowly came to a halt in front of the station. It took a few minutes before the flashes had subsided. Arneche and Loillas slowly walked towards the almost panoramic window and peered outside as a giant fleet of ships surrounded the station and a few of the larger ones glided towards it. The largest one of them was flanked by the others and had a giant badger on its hull.

Arneche put his hand on his wife's shoulder and could only hope. Then suddenly the stations loudspeakers turned on and a deep commanding voice echoed.

"This is Leonard Karooh of the Ammatar Navy, talking on behalf of the Moneybadger Coalition. This station is now under our temporary jurisdiction." The voice paused for a second as someone said something to the man. "...uhh, yes. The out gates back to high-sec will be cleared for any refugee vessels vacating the station. Please bear with us as we get set up in your station for these activities. Thank you for your cooperation." The loudspeakers died again and an audible cheer rumbled through the station as Loillas fell into her husbands arms and cried along with the rest of the station.

"We're saved! We're saved!"


End file.
